Friday, August 17, 2007

Pg. 69: Timothy Hallinan "A Nail Through the Heart"

Travel writer Poke Rafferty was good at looking for trouble –– so good that he made a little money writing a few offbeat travel guides for the young and terminally bored. But that was before Bangkok stole his heart. Now the expat American is happily playing family with Rose, the former go–go dancer he wants to marry, and with Miaow, the wary street child he wants to adopt. Yet just when everything is beginning to work out, trouble comes looking for Poke in the guise of good intentions. First he takes in Miaow's friend, a troubled and terrifying street urchin named Superman. Then he agrees to find a distraught Aussie woman's missing uncle –– and accept an old woman's generous payment to find a blackmailing theif. Soon, these three seemingly disparate events begin to overlap, pulling Poke deeper into dark, unfamiliar terrain. Gradually he realizes that he's been gliding across the surface of a culture he really doesn't understand –– and that what he doesn't know is about to hurt him and everyone he loves.

Beautifully crafted, relentlessly paced, A Nail Through the Heart is an exciting and enticing read that will leave readers hungry for more from the gifted Timothy Hallinan.

"In the first of a truly remarkable series. Hallinan takes you to Thailand with a vengeance. This one of the best novels I have read in years, and it will be a true, long-lasting favorite."--Booksense.com (monthly pick)

"Mystery writer Hallinan scores big-time with a fast-moving thriller set in Thailand.... Dark, often funny and ultimately enthralling."--Kirkus Reviews

"... a compelling new protagonist.... The narrative is deeply felt. If this opens a new series, Hallinan is off to a surefooted start with a supporting cast (including Poke’s precocious, pugnacious, almost-daughter Miaow) well worth getting to know."--Booklist

"Don't miss your chance to read A Nail Through the Heart before it starts winning all its awards .... every page shimmers with life and light. Hallinan's is a writer's writer, and this is great stuff!"--John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author

“A Nail Through the Heart is a haunting novel that takes place way out on the fringe of the moral landscape. It’s fast, bold, disturbing and beautifully written. Hallinan is terrific.”--T. Jefferson Parker, New York Times bestselling author

Timothy Hallinan wrote a well-received series of six Los Angeles-based detective novels in the nineties. A Nail Through the Heart is the first of a new series set in Bangkok, where he's lived off and on for more than 25 years.